A country with plenty to offer, Sri Lanka offers something for everyone. Whether you want to strap on a board and hit the surf or try something a little more spiritual and relax with yoga, Sri Lanka has it all.

With flight times of around 10.5 hours, this country is worth the trip.

Costa Rica has opened up enormously for UK travellers thanks to new direct flights operating from Gatwick. Routes now run to the northern city of Liberia and will operate to the capital San Jose in April.

This is an essential destination for wildlife lovers, with a huge array of endemic species making it a destination like no other.

In return for the 11 hour flight, you’ll get access to sea turtles, howler monkeys, sloths and iguanas, as well as its mountains, jungles and volcanoes.

The Philippines offers a slice of tropical luxury, with thousands of beaches with sands of every colour imaginable.

It also boasts a beautiful array of wildlife along its coastline, with beautiful coral and fish to be seen for snorkelers and divers. There are also over 1,000 land species to be seen including the endangered Philippine eagle.

For those of you that treated yourselves to David Attenborough’s wonderful series on the Great Barrier Reef over Christmas, you’ll be fully aware of the beauty Australia has to offer.

The reef is opening up all the time to tourists, with new islands and reefs available to see across the east coast all the time.

It’s also something of a turning point environmentally, with proposed mining ports meaning further encroachment on the reef. If you want to go and enjoy this wonderful sight, you might be running out of time to do so.

It’s a day in a plane, but well worth the trip.

Wherever you travel to in 2016, remember to go prepared and stay safe on the long haul flight. As soon as you’ve booked, head over to our flight socks section and make sure you’re prepared for the long flight ahead.